Quote:I think W/L is a team stat at the end of the day, but I still think there is a sense in which it captures the ability of the QB as well. For example, look that the Denver team lead by Tebow and the change in their record after they signed Manning. A good impact QB will absolutely have a major effect on the W/L record of the team. With it also comes an identity, a persona that the team can rally around follow in times of adversity. Look at the way Cam Newtown has had an impact on Carolina. He isn't the best statistical QB, but he has provided the team with fire and leadership and that is reflected by his W/L record.


In the case of Bortles it doesn't help that he seems to have the opposite effect on the team. When the pressure is on him to carry the team in the face of adversity, his play drastically deteriorates. Look at the game against the Texans for example. The team has the lead until Hopkins burns the D for a TD and the lead. How does Bortles respond? He throws a pick 6, then follows it up with another INT, and then continues to make bad decisions and poor throws until the game is out of hand. This is just the latest example but his career is filled with games like this. How about the Colts game where he only completed 1/6 passes in overtime and the team had to settle for long FG tries. Then look at Cam, the team was down multiple possessions in one of the hardest atmospheres to play in against one of the leagues best defenses and he leads multiple long drives with clutch plays and throws and eventually scores the game winning TD. There is absolutely something to be said about a QB's ability to carry a team to wins. Whether that is completely captured and reflected accurately in a statistic as simple and brute as W/L is doubtful, but there is still something to take away from the fact that Bortles has never been that type of impact player (e.g., he has never lead this team to a win on the road).